We recently connected with Beth Millner and have shared our conversation below.
Alright, Beth thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. Have you been able to earn a full-time living from your creative work? If so, can you walk us through your journey and how you made it happen? Was it like that from day one? If not, what were some of the major steps and milestones and do you think you could have sped up the process somehow knowing what you know now?
Through a lot of hard work, community support, and some luck, I have been able to earn a full-time living from creative work. Not only that, but I’ve been able to grow enough to support three full time and two part time employees! Back in 2007, I was finishing up my degree at Northern Michigan University, and living in an off-grid cabin in the woods. Beth Millner Jewelry began in my tiny kitchen, and I traveled around selling my designs at art shows. In 2012, I got a loan with the help of Northern Initiatives, and was able to buy a building to open a storefront in downtown Marquette.
I don’t know if there is one clear road map to succeeding as a creative business, but I think that a huge part of it is having a clear vision of your values and goals. For Beth Millner Jewelry, this means giving back to the community whenever possible, following sustainable production practices, and maintaining ethical employment practices. Another critical piece was building a strong online presence and social media following.
Beth, love having you share your insights with us. Before we ask you more questions, maybe you can take a moment to introduce yourself to our readers who might have missed our earlier conversations?
I’ve always had a connection to art and nature, and enjoy a lot of different mediums, but I think that I really connected to the challenge of metal arts. While I was studying at NMU, the jewelry saw in particular was considered one of the more difficult tools to work with, and I became determined to master it. Instead of being able to use unlimited color to create an image, you’re instead working with these sawn lines, textures, and figure ground reversal to create a landscape. Each part of the scene can’t exist without the others, which is very similar to nature in a lot of ways. It’s also an art form that is deeply rooted in the history of the Upper Peninsula. A lot of our stones and some of our copper is from right here in the UP.
I think that I’m most proud of the company’s mission. To date, we’ve been able to raise almost $60,000 for local nonprofit organizations through our fundraiser pendant program. We’ve also planted over 1500 trees in national forests. All of our metal is recycled, and most of our stones are found and cut in the UP. We buy our supplies locally whenever possible, use recycled packaging, and seek out ethical suppliers when we aren’t able to get things closer to home. We work to pay employees a fair wage for the area, and we provide benefits for full time employees. In the past two years, we’ve had three employees who were able to purchase their first homes! These are all things that have made Beth Millner Jewelry stronger, and allowed it to continue to grow.
How about pivoting – can you share the story of a time you’ve had to pivot?
During the pandemic, there was so much uncertainty about the economy, and the future of retail. It was a really scary thing to go through, both as a business owner with employees who relied on me, and a member of a community with a lot of vulnerable people. We wound up going fully online for several months, and started sewing cloth masks that we both sold and donated. It did help us get through 2020 from a financial perspective, which was a huge relief, but even more importantly, we were able to help the community in such a measurable way. I’m always amazed at the way Yoopers step up to help each other in times of need – it is very inspiring to be a part of.
Any insights you can share with us about how you built up your social media presence?
Things were a little bit different when I was building my social media presence. You could post something to your page, and most of your followers would see it. This meant that I was able to easily share new designs on Facebook and Instagram, and get noticed by the people who connected most to my work. Now, it’s a lot harder to get organic engagement, which can make initial growth harder. To whatever degree you’re able, I would prioritize putting money toward marketing and advertising. I would also take the time to really understand how to engage followers on the classic platforms (like Facebook and Instagram), and also to be open to newer social media avenues (like TikTok). Even if you aren’t able to advertise at first, just having that strong social media presence, and posting history, will make you seem much more trustworthy to prospective customers.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.bethmillner.com/
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/bethmillnerjewelry/?hl=en
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/BethMillnerJewelry
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/company/beth-millner-jewelry/?viewAsMember=true
- Twitter: https://twitter.com/bethmillner?lang=en
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCUyzX1wCxp2GeqJdB4tPGeA
- Yelp: https://www.yelp.com/biz/beth-millner-jewelry-marquette
- Other: https://www.tiktok.com/@bethmillnerjewelry https://www.threads.net/@bethmillnerjewelry https://www.pinterest.com/bethmillner